Bush Reports $7.3 Million in Income on 2013 Return

New York Times

June 30, 2015

Photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais / Associated Press

Jeb and Columba Bush donated $110,616 to charity in 2013.

Jeb and Columba Bush donated $110,616 to charity in 2013.

Jeb Bush’s time away from public life has been good for him, at least financially, as he and his wife, Columba, reported adjusted gross income of $7.3 million on his 2013 tax return, the last of 33 years of returns he released on Tuesday.

The return showed that he paid $2.9 million in federal taxes on that income, for an effective tax rate of 40 percent.

The business engagements of Bush were closely dissected during his campaigns for governor in Florida and during his father’s two presidential campaigns. But until Tuesday’s release, less was publicly known about his financial standing since he left the governor’s office in 2007 after two terms.

Deep in the 2013 filing, he reported $5.8 million in “consulting and speaking” income. The couple also reported making $110,616 in charitable contributions for the year. The Bush campaign reported separately that the couple had a total net worth of $19 million to $22 million.

In a description of the returns on the Bush campaign website, Bush reported making hundreds of thousands of dollars in charitable contributions since he left the governor’s office. “I’m proud of what Columba and I have contributed,” Bush said. “From 2007-2014 we donated $739,000 to charity.”

The release of the returns, 16 months before the general election, is designed to position Bush as particularly open to scrutiny compared with other candidates. Bush has not yet released his financial disclosure report, which will include details of his assets and liabilities.